Pittsburgh @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 18, 2015 ) Pittsburgh 5, Milwaukee 8

The Pittsburgh Pirates were the hottest team in the league heading into the All-Star break but can’t seem to find that momentum so far in the second half. The Pirates will try to avoid a three-game sweep when they visit the Milwaukee Brewers in the finale on Sunday.

Pittsburgh won 11 of 13 prior to the break, including three straight over first-place St. Louis last weekend, to pull itself back into the race in the National League Central but is running into some of its old problems on the road right now. The Pirates dropped the opener 4-1 on Friday and lost 8-5 on Saturday to fall to 21-21 away from their own ballpark. The Brewers were written off after a terrible start but are slowly working their way back to respectability with a 15-6 mark over the last 21 games. Milwaukee will turn to rookie Taylor Jungmann to try to polish off the sweep while Pittsburgh counters with Jeff Locke on Sunday.

TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates LH Jeff Locke (5-5, 4.03 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Taylor Jungmann (4-1, 2.15)

Locke has allowed two or fewer earned runs in each of his last six outings but took the loss in two of the last three. The New Hampshire native lasted only five innings against St. Louis on July 9 and was charged with four runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks to suffer the loss. Locke had one of his better starts of the season against Milwaukee on April 18, when he scattered one run and four hits over eight innings to earn a win.

Jungmann went into the All-Star break hot and has not lost since his second career start on June 14. The former first-round pick dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a complete-game win on July 11, allowing one run and three hits while striking out seven. Jungmann made his debut at Pittsburgh on June 9 and yielded one run and three hits in seven frames to earn the win.

WALK-OFFS

1. Brewers closer Francisco Rodriguez picked up the save in each of the first two games of the series and is 21-for-21 in save situations.

2. Pittsburgh LHP Francisco Liriano (neck tightness) was scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday.

3. Milwaukee 3B Aramis Ramirez went 3-for-3 on Saturday, matching his hit total from his previous seven games.

PREDICTION: Brewers 6, Pirates 2